Harry Potter and Life's Changes
by Crazy Eyed
Summary: Exchange students come and open the eyes of the students of Hogwarts some more. this is my first fic so please be nice. Basically this is my take of Harry's sixth year.


Chapter One  
  
"First years over hear! All first years this way!" The half giant roared over the heads of the current Hogwarts students.  
  
Rubeus Hagrid scanned the crowd around him for his favorite students. Even though teachers are not supposed have favorites, we all know they do. After not seeing them he got worried. Were they kidnapped and in trouble? Scanning more carefully this time he received a big shock.  
  
Harry Potter was walking towards the carriages just past Hagrid. He was standing tall, at least 5'10", which was surprise since Harry had always been short and scrawny for his age. His face looked blank with a hint of sadness. Or was it pity? Something else entirely? His body, other than having a massive growth spurt, was slightly muscular from hard work and not having that much body fat.  
  
Unbeknownst to Hagrid, and pretty much everybody else Harry knew, Harry had hardened. Emotionally and physically. Endless beatings, chores, and "Harry Huntings" as he liked to call them so much, over the summer had given him a lot of time to do his homework and think about things. He now had developed the uncanny ability to hide his feeling from those whom he didn't trust. His best friends had noticed this.  
  
Ronald Weasley walked on Harry's left. He had grown even taller over the summer. Last time he had seen his close friend was on the train that took them away for the summer holidays. Ron had also changed over the summer. Nightmares almost every night were now a common occurrence.  
  
The first time this had happened, he had put it off as a side effect of Sirius' death. Even if he had no idea how this might be as he didn't even see it happen. After a week he realized that his arms had scars all over them instead of the welts from before. This came as a very big surprise. He decided to get this checked out, so he talked with Madame Pomfrey. She didn't understand it. He mentioned the trouble sleeping and said it might be a side effect of the brains.  
  
Ron decided to keep this to himself for now. The nightmares opened his eyes to what the world was really like. Sometimes he saw images of death and destruction on many levels. Other times they were about lying and cheating and other white-collar crimes. He saw lots of tricks people did to fool their enemies. A subtle hand gesture, a slight innuendo, and using vague sentences that could have double meanings.  
  
The effect was not very noticeable. Ron became a bit more cautious around everyone. He noticed a lot of little details of the world around him. For example he noticed that every time asphodel was mentioned, Ginny would scratch her cheek. Of course, the plant wasn't mentioned that many times so it could have just been a coincidence.  
  
Hermione Granger is the only female member of the Golden Trio as they were sometimes called. She had a relatively normal holiday. She had gone to the states to visit relatives and see the sights. She was surprised to learn that there were not many schools for magic. Hermione met her wilder side at the parties her cousin threw. She liked Rock a lot, but still liked listening to everything to unwind. Healthy living also turned into a big issue for her. Like many of her year mates, she had become self- conscious. This is where they had there disagreements. Lavender and Parvati both used spells and potions to help them while Hermione decided to go for a more active approach. At Hogwarts, the only exercise she ever got was some in the D.A. and whenever she went running after Harry and Ron. Because of this, she wasn't exactly thin, but not fat. She started to eat better and exercise more often. Even with all of this she did read up pn the subjects that she read up on the subjects that she was pretty sure she was in.  
  
The three of them made an imposing group. They didn't scare anybody. It was like they had an aura of confidence. The way they acted deserved respect.  
  
Hagrid stopped starring at them, noticing that the first years were finally with him.  
  
"Well come on, come on. Don't want to be late now do we?" He said and led them to the boats.  
  
Hello! This is my first fanfic. Please review and if anyone would like to beta for me please tell me so. Thanks and remember, Review! 


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